Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

Funky Phrases

When a person feels things are at their very worst, a friend might try to offer hope by saying, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” The advice is based on the observed phenomenon that when clouds disperse and sunlight begins to shine through, the first sign is the appearance of a silvery edge on the cloud. The inferred meaning is that if the depressed person looks hard enough, he or she will discover something good comes out of their misery. So where did the phrase originate?

Sources attribute the first written use of the phrase to John Milton of “Paradise Lost” fame. The saying comes not from...

 

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